


After an Injury

by believesinponds



Series: Pimms Week 2019 [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, mild panic attack, pure fluff, with a dash of hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 17:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20313598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/believesinponds/pseuds/believesinponds
Summary: Jack flies across the country to take care of his injured partner.[Pimms Week Day 1: Hospital]





	After an Injury

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Jack experiences a mild panic attack in the first section.

A bad check, they had said. An accident. The guy who did it felt terrible, said he was friends with Parse and would never do serious damage on purpose. Parse was on his way to the hospital with a definite broken bone and possible concussion.

Jack put his phone back in his pocket and tried to breathe. One of the media interns waved at him as they walked down the hallway.

He needed to find a more private spot.

The hall felt endless as he walked, thinking about the lounge on the other end of the building. He walked. There was a seating area under a large sunroof in an alcove off the hallway. It was empty and the sun blazing through the windows seemed enticing. 

He sat on one of the benches.

Deep breath in. Hold. Let it out slowly.

Another breath. Another slow exhale. 

Kent was hurt, but he would be fine. He had been hurt before and he would probably get hurt again. It was the nature of the job.

Another deep breath in and out.

This was a totally reasonable response to a partner getting injured. It was okay to feel this way. It was okay to be anxious.

Jack let out another long breath and tried to focus on the small tattoo on the inside of his wrist. He unclenched his hands and ran a finger over it, the lines of the two crossed hockey sticks raised slightly from the rest of his skin. 

He just had to make it through this practice. Show up for the team. He could play it like he was having an off day and then get out of there as soon as it was over. (He’d even wait to shower until he had a flight to Vegas booked.)

He got his breathing under control and headed for the locker room.

* * *

“Zimms, you don’t need to come.”

Jack made a face at the video of Kenny on his phone. “I’m coming.”

“That’s what he said.”

Jack sighed and looked at the ceiling.

“Babe. Seriously.” Kent was lying in a hospital bed, his upper body and right arm in a plaster cast. “It’s not nearly as bad as it looks.”

“I know.” Jack searched his face—it didn’t look like he was in pain, so that was good. They must have given him something strong. “But I’m still going to come. I can be back in time for our game tomorrow night.”

Kent shook his head. “You’re insane, Zimms. But I’m hardly gonna stop you from coming to see me.”

“Miss me, Kenny?”

Kent laughed. “You know it. What time is your flight?”

“Two hours. My ride should be here any minute.”

“Mmkay. I might be asleep when you get here. Wake me up with a kiss?”

Jack smiled. “You know it.”

* * *

His flight was delayed, which was some serious bad luck, but he made it to Vegas by 5:00 am local time. 

Kenny was sleeping soundly and Jack didn’t want to actually wake him. Instead he pressed a kiss to his forehead and settled into the too-small armchair next to the bed.

He awoke to one of the medical staff making a note on Kenny’s chart, Kent himself still sleeping peacefully. By the time the staff member left, Kent was stirring and Jack smoothed the hair back from his forehead.

“Zimms,” Kent whispered, his eyes still closed.

Jack pet his hair again and leaned down to wake his partner with a kiss. “Hey, Kenny.”

“Y’re so dumb, Zimms. I’m fine.”

Jack smiled and kissed Kent again, this time on his forehead. “I know. Just had to see it for myself.”

“Doctor said I could check out this morning.”

“I’ll take you home.”

“And take care of me?”

“All day. And your sister is on her way.”

“Okay. What about Michelle?”

“Staying with her cousins.”

“Okay.”

“Kenny?” Jack stroked the tattoo on Kent’s cast-free wrist and waited for him to open his eyes.

After a minute, he did. “Hmm?”

Jack searched his gaze, looking for anything unusual, but all he saw was Kent’s signature blue-grey. “Concussion?” he asked.

Kent shook his head gently. “Nope. Just some really awkward broken bones.”

Jack sighed, his chest lightening immediately. “Good. That’s good.”

On a normal day Kent would probably chirp him there, but he didn’t. He just touched Jack’s hand and said, “Yeah.”

* * *

“This is ridiculous,” Kent said from the back seat. With the angle of his arm in the cast, he hadn’t been able to fit in the front.

“We’re almost home, Kenny.” Jack grinned at him in the rear-view mirror. “Just enjoy being chauffeured like the rich asshole you are, eh?”

“Your face is a rich asshole,” Kent muttered.

Jack just laughed and turned into Kent’s gated neighborhood. 

* * *

The couch hadn’t really been feasible, so Jack got Kent set up in bed. He found all the extra pillows (Kent has _so many_ of them) and propped them all around Kent’s torso so he could sit up.

“I wanna watch TV, Zimms.”

Jack frowned at him. “You don’t have a TV in here, Kenny.”

Kent stuck out his lower lip and widened his eyes, blinking slowly. It was just on the right side of too-dramatic to be effective.

Jack tossed a pillow at Kent’s face (carefully!) and went to drag the extra TV into his bedroom.

* * *

Kent fell back asleep after a couple hours of HGTV, Jack curled up on his good side. He wanted to stay longer and take care of Kent. Honestly, he knew if it were any other part of the season he would have begged George to get him a healthy scratch so he could look after Kenny for a few more days.

Not so long ago the thought would have scared him. But now? Now he was ready to make a commitment to something more than hockey. He thought about the trade deal that his agent was planning to negotiate after playoffs. He thought about the boxes that were already packed and ready to ship to Las Vegas. And he thought about his second Stanley Cup Champion ring tucked away in his drawer, the symbol of two crossed hockey sticks surrounded by his and Kent’s initials.

Soon he wouldn’t have to fly all the way across the country just to see his best friend (the love of his life). Soon they would get to be together all the time. He just had to make it through the post-season and then they would be together for the rest of their lives.

Soon. 


End file.
